Homeowners return to claim properties in wake of Syrian pullout

Homeowners return to claim properties in wake of Syrian pullout

Emotional residents come from far and wide to view heritage that had been commandeered for 30 years
By Jessy Chahine Daily Star staffThursday, April 28, 2005

ANJAR: The inhabitants of properties commandeered by the Syrian Army during their almost 30-year occupation of Lebanon began returning to their homes Wednesday. The abandoned buildings are now under the jurisdiction of the Lebanese Army until the homeowners present property deeds and a document signed by the mayor confirming their ownership - but inhabitants are eager to go back and check on their properties, even if only from a distance.
"This is the house that my father built for us, his children, 35 years ago," said Ahmad, 34.
Pointing from afar - the landlords have not yet been given permission by the Lebanese Army to visit their properties - at a three-storey villa located opposite Anjar's main road, Kanaa said his father had passed away three years ago without seeing his property after it was requisitioned by the Syrian Army.
"This is the very first time that I see it with my own eyes," the man said with an Australian accent. "I came back three days ago with my family from Sydney to be part of history-in-the-making for Lebanon and to try and get our property back."
After 30 years of Syrian occupation, Lebanese soldiers have replaced Syrian troops in the Bekaa village, setting up a checkpoint at a junction in the center of town previously manned by Syrian military intelligence agents. Located in the heart of the Bekaa, Anjar had been the heart of the Syrian intelligence services in Lebanon.
Nadim Hidik, 42, another inhabitant of Anjar who has not been allowed near his house for many years, had a hard time holding back tears as he spoke of reclaiming his home.
"I thought this day would never come," Hidik said, "we're not expecting any compensation from the government for sure; it's entirely up to us to rebuild the whole thing from scratch."
From the Bekaa to the Lebanese mountains there were scenes of jubilation. In the famous Metn area of Bois de Boulogne, Walid Riachi was gazing with pride at the hotel his grandfather had built and managed in the 1930s.
Although he lives only a few kilometers away, Riachi had never known the hotel, as it had been entirely occupied by Syrian intelligence personnel.
"People don't really believe they have actually left," said Georges Ghostine, the village mayor and owner of the famed Bois de Boulogne Hotel, while greeting friends who have come to celebrate the departure of the Syrian troops.
In the early 1970s, the Bois de Boulogne Hotel was a major summer destination for world-famous celebrities and served as a location for many award-winning Egyptian movies.
Inside the hotel, walls had been marked by wood smoke, and many windows and doorways had been bricked up.
"The soldiers never interfered with us but it was disturbing to have this constant military presence here, as if we were living in a barracks," Ghostine said, "The Bois de Boulogne area is known to be a summer resort and people come here to relax. They do not like the presence of soldiers all over the place."
Syrian troops first arrived in Bois de Boulogne in 1976, a few months after Damascus dispatched troops to Lebanon to help quell the civil war, then in its infancy. For the next 29 years, there was a continuous troop presence in the area.
In Hammana, another summer location for Arabs from across the region, the residents were equally pleased to recover their long-occupied properties.
In Salim Younes's house, located in a three-storey building occupied by Syrian intelligence, the tiled floors were blackened where fires had burned and the walls were covered with graffiti.
There was no electricity, no running water, and sanitation was basic. All interior fittings and furniture had been taken or used as firewood to keep the troops warm during winter.
Anything that could be removed was gone: light switches, electricity sockets, wiring, water pipes, even window and door frames.
"I know it will take me forever to rebuild my house," Younes said, "but at least I have it back, and if I leave this world before finishing it, it will be passed on to my children as part of their family legacy, something they can hold on to, no matter what."